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Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
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What is Clinical speech and
language studies?
The undergraduate programme in Clinical speech and language
studies is a four-year professional honors course in speech and
language therapy. Speech and language therapists work with
people who have communication difficulties, helping them to find
ways to maximise their speech, language and communication
skills. They also assess, diagnose and treat people with
swallowing difficulties.
Communication difficulties can occur at any stage in a person’s
life and they happen for a variety of reasons. Some are present
at birth, others are due to accidents or illness later in life.
Speech and language therapists commonly work with children
who are delayed in their early language development and/or
development of speech sounds. They also work with people
who have acquired communication and/or swallowing problems
(e.g. following stroke), people with physical impairments (e.g.
cerebral palsy), learning difficulties (e.g. intellectual impairment,
autism), people who stutter or have problems with their voice,
people with written language problems (e.g. dyslexia) and
people with mental health disorders. They often work as part of a
multidisciplinary team that may include a teacher, psychologist,
doctor, occupational therapist, nurse and social worker among
others. Therapists work in a variety of settings, including
hospitals, community settings such as primary and continuing
care clinics, in schools and/or day care centres or in some
instances they may be situated within specialist clinics.
Is this the right course for you?
Do you enjoy working with people? Do you have a questioning
approach to learning? Are you flexible and adaptable? Are
you interested in how people communicate? As a speech and
language therapist, you will come into contact with people of
all ages and will have the option to work in a range of settings,
including schools, community clinics, specialist clinics and
hospitals. In almost all instances, you will also find yourself
working with parents and/or families. While an interest in science
and language is important, it is critical that you are people-
oriented, adaptable and enjoy collaborative problem-solving.
Course overview
This course is for students who enjoy learning by doing. At all
stages in the course, you will be involved in solving problems
that mirror the problems people encounter in a clinical situation.
Clinical placements are an important learning context right from
the start. We have access to a wide range of clinical settings, to
ensure that students get a broad range of experience, as well as
an on-site clinic where you may be involved in clinical research
projects.
This is a four-year degree which is recognised and accredited
by the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists.
Over the four years, you will be expected to develop an in-depth
understanding of communication development and disorders
as well as swallowing disorders, so that you are well placed
to assist those who have communication and swallowing
difficulties. Linguistics, psychology and biomedical sciences
are major components of the course. You will also gain
experience in research techniques, so that you can continue
developing your knowledge base.
There are approximately twenty-four teaching hours per week
in the Junior Freshman (first) year, including clinical visits.
The component courses are grouped under two headings:
Theory and Clinical practice.
Theoretical component
Major subject areas include speech and language pathology,
linguistics, psychology, discourse analysis, anatomy (studied
through human dissection and lectures), physiology, neurology
and audiology.
Teaching methods include lectures, tutorials and case-based
learning, as well as group work in small teams to address
problems set in the problem-based learning approach.
Clinical practice
During term time an average of one day per week is reserved
for student clinical work. You will also be required to undertake
clinical practice outside term time: a three-week block in the
Senior Freshman (second) year, a four-week block in the
Junior Sophister (third) year and a one-week block in the
Senior Sophister (fourth) year. A six- to eight-week block is
also organised within term time in the Senior Sophister year.
While you will generally attend clinics around Ireland, it may
be possible, by special arrangement, to attend clinics in other
countries.
PBL
Problem-based or problem-centred learning provides students with
structured problems for specified learning objectives. Students work
in groups (under supervision) to research how to ‘solve’ the problem
set. They share their information with each other and develop
important skills in teamwork. Many of the problems are assessed
through group oral presentations and/or written assignments. Tutor
feedback guides students at every stage.